Clutch



March 26, 1940. c, w, mess 2,194,793

CLUTCH Filed May 28, 1937 s Sheets-Sheet 1 March 26, 1940. C. w. HIGGS 2,194,793

' cwrcn Filed lay 28, 1937 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 March 26, 1940. ;:.v w.' mess 2,194,793

CLUTCH F119;! Kay 28, 1937 a Sheets-Sheet s Patented Mar. 26, 1940 UNITED? sums Charles William Riggs, London, England, as-

lignor to Borg-Warner Corporation, Chicago, 111., a corporation of Illinois Ill FM Application May 28, 1937, Serial No. 145,24 In GreatBrltain August 1, 1938 14 Claims. (01. 192-107) This invention relates to clutches of the general type in which a circular plate has its peripheral portion provided on one or each side with a friction facing carried in'a resilient manher, so that as the clutch is engaged the resilient mounting of the facing'or facings enables the load to be taken up gradually.

It is the primary-object of the present invention to provide an improved construction of clutch plate in which the mounting of the facings is adapted to provide two or more resilient steps which have to be overcome before the plate becomes fully compressed.

According to one feature of the invention a clutch plate is provided comprising a disc carrying a facingon each side, at: least one of said facings being resiliently'mounted upon tongues, and being arranged so that after a predetermined amount of compression the number of tongues coacting with said facing is increased, the invention being characterized bythe fact that said facing is mounted so that it at all times, both before and during compression, tends to remain parallel with the general plane of the disc.

The invention thus provides a clutch plate comprising a disc carrying a facing at each side, at least one of said facings being resiliently mounted upon one set of tongues, and being arranged so that after a predetermined amount of compression it coacts with anotherset of tongues to produce two stages of compression, one or each of the facings being mounted so that it is at all times held in a plane lying substantially parallel with the plane of the disc.

As a further feature the invention provides a clutch plate comprising a disc carrying a facing on each side, at least one of said facings being re iliently mounted upon the disc by means of a. plurality of sets of laterally deflected tongues which cause the resilient pressure exerted by the facing during engagement to increase in stages, wherein said facing at all times tends to remain parallel with the plane of the disc and to exert a uniform resilient pressure over its whole area, for which purpose the tongues comprising each set are substantially equal in shape and size, and the points at which the tongues are secured to, or coact with the facing are all displaced the same-distance from the plane of the disc.. Preferably, the pcints'of coengagement between the tongues and the corresponding facing are uniformly distributed between the inner and outer margins of the facing.

Another form of plate according to the invene side and formed at intervals around its circumference with cutaway parts which are shaped so as to provide in each case a straightradial gap extending inwardly to the full extent of the cut away portion, said gap being circumferentially 5, branched to form a plurality of pairs of tongues which are bent laterally and coact with at least j enact the facings, said tongues being bent out of the plane of the disc so that they form a plurality of series which come into operation suc- 1 cessively during the engagement of the clutch, andthose of said tongues comprisingeach individual series being of substantially equal size and shape whereby the facing at all times tends to assume a position lying truly parallel with the plane of the disc. At each of the cut away portions of the plate four tongues may conveniently be produced, all facing towards the radius of symmetry of the cut away portion, two of said tongues being directly-secured to the facing and D two being arranged to enact with said facing only after a-predetermined amount of compression of the plate has taken place. For convenience in manufacture all of the tongues at each of the cut away portions may be directed so that their axes intersect at a point'c'ommon to all.

A modified form of plate according to'the in- (vention comprises a circular disc carrying a facing on each side and formed around its margin with, a series of cut away portions each of which is branched, so as to produce a group of tongues, someof the tongues in each group being deflected and attached to a facing on one side of the plate and others in said group being deflected toa less extent so as to cooperate with the facing after a predetermined amwnt of compression has taken place, the tongues which act at any one stage in the compression being equal in size and being distributed substantially uniformly with regard to the radial width of the facing whereby the latter at all times tends to maintain a position in which it lies parallel with the plane of the disc.

Examples 'of clutch plates according to the invention are shown in the accompanying draw-' ings in' which a Figure 1 is a part sectional elevation of a por tion of 'the plate showing one construction;

Figure 2 is a diagrammatic section on the line v 2-2 of Figure 1.; v

Figure 3 is a diagrammatic section on the line 3-3 of Figure 1; s

Figure 4 shows by a fragmentary elevation a modified construction of plate in which both faoings are resiliently mounted; u

showing ancular disc II is formed from resilient sheet metal and is flat for the major partof its area. .It

is provided on its front and rear surfaces with annular facings ii and I2 respectively, the latter being secured rigidly to the disc III by a series of rivets it. At intervals around its periphery the disc II is cut away as indicated at ll, the

shape of the cut away spacesbeing substantially cruciform and being arranged so that a straight radial gap terminating at its outer part in a neck portion ll is provided. described each cut away space I4 produces four inwardly facing tongues I, l1, l8 and I9, these being of identical shape and size, primarily with a view to ensuring that the front facing ll carried thereby shall at all times lie or tend to lie in a plane which is truly parallel with the plane of the disc II.' It will be noticed that the tongue I. is formed with a hole 20 by which it is attached to the facing ll, and in order that these points of attachment may be uniformly distributed between the inner and outer margins of the facing II the tongues II and II are as shown intlirchanged for each succeeding cut away space In order to provide the requisite two stage resilient mountingfor the facing ll themtongues arewiefiected forwardly, the tongues l6 and I8 being bent so that their extremities are displaced from but lie parallel with the general plane of the disc I. The tongues I! are secured to the facing II by rivetsll whichserve to holdthe facing II in place and also to transmit the driving torque whenthe clutchis in use. The tongues l1 and I! on the other hand are bent to a similar -shape but are less displaced from the disc iii than are the tongues I 8 and I I. Figure 3 shows the general relationship of the parts when the clutch plate is free from any compression forces. and'it will be seen, therefore, that during the initial part of the engagement of the clutch inward movement of the facing H is resisted only by the pairs of tongues i8 and It; thus forming the firststage. when the facingil comes into contact with the tongues l1 and II. however, the resistance to compression is considerably inm creased, and in fact the clutch disc cancbe so designed that even when the clutch is fully engaged the tongues in'the disc I! are not absolutely flattened. This gives a certain resilience in the drive which is found to be advanta eous. 55 In the example shown in Figures 1 to 3 the tongues it, I'I,- II and I! are. of course, all de- .flected toone side of the disc III.

A modified arrangement is, however, shown in figures 4 to 6 in which the clutchdisc ll'is substantially oi the same form as before with cut away spaces ll. The groups of tongues are in this case bent alternately on opposite sides of the disc ll so that both of the facing'sare sup-' ported in a resilient manner. Thlsis shown 7 clcarlyinFigures5and6,thctongucsi' and" In the example being being bent upwardly to a relatively large extent while the corresponding tongues its and Na of the next adjacent group are bent downwardly, all

' for the purpose of providing the first stage in the resilient compressional the clutch disc. The general arrangement of the tongues l9 and i1 is the same as before, and the similar tongues l9a and Ila are bent to the opposite side of the disc lll'for cooperating with the facing I! only during the second stage of compression. The position tical size, are also uniformly distributed across the width of the facings, thereby ensuring that the latter shall tend always to remain in a plane lying parallel with the clutch disc ill and will thus wear substantially uniformly over its whole area.

Figure 7 shows a somewhat modified shape of 'clutch disc l0, which nevertheless has the same general characteristics as those previously described. It will be noticed, however, that the axes of the tongues l6, l1, l8 and I9 intersect at a point 23, and the marking out of the disc is thereby facilitated. This also applies to the shape of disc shown in Figure 4. 7

Another modification of the invention is illustrated in Figures 8 and 9 in whlchthe lower facing i2 is secured to the clutch disc ill by means of pairs of rivets 24, and is thus non-resiliently mounted, while the upper facing II is attached by rivets 25 and 26 to tongues 21 and 28 which are deflected sothat their ends lie out of the plane of the disc in. The latter is also formed at intervals with similar tongues 29 and 30, which although cooperating with the facing ll during the whole of the compression are not actually secured to said facing. The second stage in the compression takes place when the surface of the facing ll contacts with tongues 3| and 32, which as seen in Figure 9 are also deflected with regard to the general plane of the disc ill but not to such a great extent as the tongues 21-30. Each of the cut away spaces formed at intervals around the periphery of the disc ill in shape resembles the letters rand H, the transverse limb of the H being arranged radially and inregister with the center part of the vertical limb of the T, thus in effect producing six tongues in each group.

The improved construction of plate may, of

course, be utilized with various types of plate.

clutches, and if desired said plate may itself incorporate a coil spring, rubber buffer or other cushion drive between the plate and the usual shaft or spindle upon which it is mounted. Moreover, the form of the tongues and their method of manufacturemay bearranged so as to provide the desired resilience, said tongues or equivalent means for providing the cushioning of the facings being in some cases attached as by welding or riveting to the clutch plate. In all cases the resilient mounting may be applied to both of the facings or only one of them, as desired. Further, the number of tongues provided in each group or series or the number of series may be modified, and, if desired, more than two separate sets may be provided so that the corresponding number of. stages in the cushioning is obtained,

said tongues or equivalent being of equal size and distribution so that the facing always malntalns its parallel relationship with the clutch plate. The fact that the tongues are all of equal strength and the points at which the facing cosaid facings, each group being formed by a single I acts with these tongues are all disposed substan- .tially symmetrical with respect to the inner andouter edges of the facing enables this parallel relationship to be maintained, and also promotes uniformity in the wear of the facing. I claim:

1. A multi-stage cushioned clutch plate comprising a pair of facings and a disc on the opposite sides of which said facings are mounted, said disc having in its peripheral region a plurality of I groups of resilient tongues, each said group comprising two pairs of tongues, the tongues of one pair being circumferentially opposed to the tongues of the remaining pair and all of-- the tongues having substantially symmetrical profile,

said tongues being biased laterally from the plane of the disc so as to coact with at least one of cut-away space opening into the periphery of the disc, two of the tongues of said group having maximum bias for an initial stage of cushioning;

and theother two of said tongues of said group having lesser bias so as to come into operation only for a subsequent stage of cushioning.

'2.'A multi-stage cushioned clutch plate com- I prising a pair of facings and a disc on the opposite' sides of which said facings are mounted, the

' peripheral region-of said disc having a plurality of groups of resilient tongues biased laterally from the plane of the disc so as to coact'with at least one of said facings, each group being formed by a single cut-away space opening into the periphery of the disc, and including a set of tongues having maximum bias for an initial stage of cushioning, and a second set of tongues ,having lesser bias so as to come into operation only for.

a subsequent stage of cushioning, each said group comprisingtwo pairs of tongues, the tongues of one pair being circumferentiallyopposed to the tongues of the remaining pair-and all of the tongues having'substantially, symmetrical profile,"

saidtongues of each group forming two series of radially spaced tongues one, on either side of said cut-away space,-whereby the facing engaged by said tongues tends at all times to assume a position lying truly parallel with 'the plane of the disc.

3. A clutch plate as defirfed in claim 1 wherein the points of coengagementbetween the tongues and the corresponding facing are uniformly distributed between the inner and outer margins of the facing.

4. A clutch plate comprising a disc carrying a a facing on each side and formed at intervals around its circumference with cut away spaces which are shaped so as to provide in each casea straight radial gap extending inwardly to the full extent of the cut away portionfsaid'gap being circumferentially branched to form a plurality of pairs of tongues which are bent laterally and coact with at least one-ofthe facings, said tongues being bent out of the plane of the disc so that they form a plurality of series which come'into operation successively during the engagement of the clutch, and those of said tongues comprising each individual series being of substantially equal size and shape whereby the facing at all times tends to assume a position lying truly parallel with the plane of the-disc. s

5. A multi-stage cushioned clutch plate comprising a pair of facings and a disc on the opposite sides of which .said facings are mounted, said disc being formed with a pluralitypf circumferentially spaced radial gaps each branched circumferentially to provide a group of circumferat each of the cut away spaces of the plate four tongues are produced, all facing towards the radius of symmetry of the cut away portion, two of said tongues being directly secured to the. fac- .ing and two being arranged to coact with said facing only after a predetermined amount of compression of the plate has taken place.

7. A clutch plate as defined in claim 4 wherein all of the tongues 'at eachof the cut away spaces are directed so that their axes intersect at a point common to all.

8. A clutch plate as defined in claim 1 wherein the resilient tongues are all deflected to one side of the disc and coact with one of the facings, the other facing being secured directly to the undefiected part of the disc.

9. A clutch plate as defined in claim -1 wherein 'both of the facings are carried entirely by resilient tongues and these are deflected some'to one side of the disc and some to the other.

- 10. A multi-stage cushioned clutch plate comprising a pair of facings and a disc of spring material on the opposite sides of which said facings are, mounted, said disc being formed'with a phirality of circumferentially spaced radial gaps 'each branched circumferentially to provide a group of tongues'each including a plurality of radially spaced pairs of circumferentially opposed tongues biasedlaterally from the plane of, the disc so as to coact with at least one of said facings, each of said groups including a set of tongues having maximum bias for an initial stage a lesser bias so as to come into operation only for a'subsequent stage of cushioning, the tongues which act at any one stage in the compression being equal in size and being distributed substantiallyuniformly with regard to the radial width of thejacing whereby the latter at all times tends to maintain a position in which it lies parallel with the plane of the disc.

11. A clutch plate comprising a circular disc "provided with a facing on each side and formed around its margin with a series of cut-away spaces cruciform in shape and each including a radial gap extending to the periphery of thedisc,

each of said cut-away spaces being branched so as to produce a group of tongues, some of the tongues in each group being deflected and engaged with a facing on one side of the plate, and others in said group being. deflected to a less extent so as to cooperate with the facing after agpiedetermined amount of compression has taken place, the tongues each acting at any one stage of compression being equal in size and being distributed substantially uniformly with regard 'to,,the radial width of the facing, whereby the facing at all times tends to maintain a position in which it lies parallel with the plane of the disc.

clutch plate comprising a disc carrying a facing on each side, at least one of said facings being resiliently mounted upon tongues, and -'being arranged sothat after a predetermined amount of compression thenumber of tongues coacting with of cushioning, and a second set of tongues having the said facing is'increased, characterized by the fact that said facing is mounted so that it at all times, both before and during compression, tends to remain parallel with the general plane of the disc, said tongues being formed by cut away spaces in the marginal region of said disc, each of said cut away spaces being in the form of a T with its vertical limb disposed radially and a superimposed H the transverse limb. of which overlies the center part of the said vertical limb of the T. v

13. A multi-stage cushioned clutchplate comprising a pair of facings, a hub, a disc mounted on said hub, a plurality of circumferentialiy spaced groups of resilient tongues carried by the peripheral region of said disc, and biased lateral-- ly to coact with at least one of said facings, each group of tongues defining a radial gap extending the full radial depth of the group and branched circumierentially.

14. A multi-stage cushioned clutch plate comprising a pairoi iacinss, a hub, a disc mounted on said hub, a plurality of circumferentially spaced groups of resilient tongues carried by the peripheral region ally to coact with at least one of said iacings. each group of tongues defining a space-in the form of a T with its vertical limb disposed radially and at least one pair of opposed arms branching circumierentially from said vertical limb, and each group including a set of tongues having maximum bias for an initial stage 01 cushioning and a second set of tong es having a lesser bias.

so as to come into'operation only for a subsequent stage of cushioning. CHARLES WILUI HIGGS.

ofsaid disc, and biased later-.

CERTiFICATE 0F CORRECTION.- Patent No. 2,19h,795.- -Ha'rch -26,=19ho.

' CHARLES w LLun HIGGS.

It is hereby certified that error appears-in the 'prihteispecitication of the above numbered patent requiring correction'as follows: P113614, sec- 0nd column, line 2, c1aim 15, after theword 'fcircumierential-ly" and'beiore the periodineert the following w --to provide a plurality of radially spaced eymmetricai I pairs of 'circumfe'rentially opppsed tongues eolhe ofwhich are biased form initial stage oi' cushioning and others of which arebiaaed torla secondary stage of cushio and that the said. Letters" Patent ahouldbo read with'thie correction therein that the same may conform to the record of the case in the Patent Office.

Signed and sealed this 25th day of- June, A. 1:. 191m.

r Henry Van Aradale,

' (Seal) Acting Commissioner of Patents 

